The progress of the automobile industry in the modern times has made automobiles practically a necessity in the lives of many people, and demands for small automobiles which are economical in fuel consumption, perfect in function and high in driving power have become strong. In order to satisfy such a trend in the demand, desirably the waste heat obtainable from the engine of an automobile should be turned into an auxiliary source of energy for driving the cooler and heater for the passenger compartment, and for driving a generator, a super charger and the like.
Because the energy requirements for auxiliary devices in the present invention is met by the waste heat, the output power of the engine can be used exclusively for driving the automobile, and therefore, an automobile which is economical in fuel consumption, favorable in engine protection, perfect in function, and strong in driving power is provided. Low maintenance costs and low energy consumption are also benefits in such an automobile.
However, in the case of conventional automobiles, the energy requirements for auxiliary apparatuses, such as the cooler, heater, electric generator, super charger and the like, are met by the main output power of the automobile engine, and therefore, the driving efficiency of the engine is greatly reduced. Further, in small cars, an excessive load is imposed on the engine for the reason described above, with the result that the engine is liable to malfunction, the life expectancy of the engine becomes short, and the operating cost for the automobile is increased due to the higher fuel consumption. In an effort to provide a solution for such disadvantages, the prior art has proposed to employ an absorption type cooler utilizing the automobile waste heat, but its bulk is too large and its constitution is much too complicated in consideration of its performance. Further, its mass is too large, and the range of its application is too limited, with the result that it could not produce any practical effect.